[pct-l] wow thats a big camera

[Eric Lee]

Tom wrote:
>
I think the trade-offs between weight, capability, and logistical
complexity are interesting. :)
>

I fancy myself an amateur landscape photographer and I've done PCT section
hikes both ways; with a full SLR system and multiple lenses, and with a
compact point-and-shoot.  Lately I've settled on the compact camera.

For me the deciding factor was not weight, though the SLR was definitely a
noticeable weight in my pack.  The deciding factor for me was that I was
getting stressed out trying to do two different things at the same time.

On one hand I'm always pushing hard to make the miles.  My section hikes
aren't usually that long, five or six days, but I try to bite off 100 - 140
miles at a time and doing that kind of mileage, coming straight from a desk
job, means that I need to walk pretty much from can-see to can't-see.  I got
frustrated with the SLR because I didn't have a convenient way to keep it at
hand so every time I wanted to take a picture I had to stop, open up my
pack, get the gear out and set up, and then spend time composing and taking
the photograph.  It really ate into my hiking time.

On the other hand, if I'm going to bother to do "serious" photography I want
the results to be something I can be proud of.  I got frustrated because I
wasn't able to devote the kind of time and attention I needed to get the
results I wanted, or because I was often in spectacular spots when the light
was all wrong and I couldn't afford to wait around.

I eventually came to the conclusion that I had to pick a theme for each of
my trips; either photography or long-distance hiking, and optimize around
that one theme.  Mixing them doesn't work for me.  Now I think of my
long-distance hikes as reconnaissance missions and I take pictures with my
compact camera that will remind me of where I want to come back to some
other time with my full gear to do it properly.

Not everyone has a problem mixing the two pursuits, but I sure did.  For
what it's worth . . .

Eric